PROSPECT Alan Frizzell says it only truly sunk in that he had played for the Morton first team when he saw his picture in the Tele and his name on Sky Sports.
In a whirlwind week, the Under-17s midfielder started and scored in the Renfrewshire Cup victory over Gourock Thistle and then came off the bench during the final-day defeat to Raith Rovers.
And Frizzell, who turned 17 just last month and had not even featured for the Under-19s before his promotion to the top team, admits he is still trying to get his head round recent events.
He told the Tele: "It's hard to take in. Everything happened at once.
"My Under-17s coach Callum Robb phoned me to tell me I would be playing against Gourock Thistle.
"To start in the match was great but to score was brilliant. I actually scored with my second touch and was so shocked that I didn't know what to do and didn't manage a celebration.
"I saw the match report in the Tele the next day and there was a photo of me in it - that was nuts too.
"The day it was in the paper, I was walking down the street in Gourock to get a haircut and a man stopped me and said I was 'the boy whose picture was in the paper for scoring for the Morton'.
"After all of that I was then given a place on the bench against Raith Rovers. I thought I was just there as a wee treat after scoring against Gourock, so I was absolutely delighted to actually get on.
"That night I was at my friend's house and his big brother told me he was checking the Sky Sports app on his phone to see what the Morton score was and he couldn't believe it when he saw my name. One of my teachers said the same.
"It is mad. I'm used to seeing all the big names on Sky Sports, guys like Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres, both pictured, and there was my name alongside them.
"It's amazing the recognition you get for playing football and just kicking a ball between two white posts.
"I touched the ball a total of three times. One was a tackle and two were passes. Both of the passes were successful and I was joking with my dad that I have a better pass rate than Xavi at Barcelona.
"I'm not one to get ahead of myself, though. I've not been raised that way, and I know my family would make sure I kept my feet on the ground if I ever threatened to get carried away."
But while the Greenock-born teenager was thrilled to have made his debut, he also revealed that there was an element of relief too - because he might never have played at all if fortune had not smiled on him on the morning of the game He added: "My other Under-17s coach Peter Dunn phoned me at 11.30pm the night before the Raith game to tell me Allan Moore wanted me to play.
"I'm in fifth year at Clydeview Academy, but I also work part-time at Hollister in Braehead - I actually work with Warren Hawke's daughter - and I had a shift the next day during the match.
"I had to make a phone call and ask for the day off. I have three managers but only one of them likes football.
"Luckily I spoke to the one who does and he was fine with it. I might have struggled if someone else was in that day!"
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